China English in the world: 2012

China English and geographic mobility

The development and rising use of China English attributes to the increasing globalized mobility. Since China adopted the Reform and Opening-up policies in 1978, not only the system of economy encounters a fundamental change, but there are more interflow of people between China and the foreign countries.

There are more foreign people visiting and settling in China. According to the figures issued in 2011 by the United Nation World Tourism Organization, China surpassed Spain to become the world’s third most visited country. There were around 60 million international arrivals in 2010. This in-flow of foreigners increases the demand for the use of English, a lingua franca, in China. For instance, when China became the host of the Olympic Games in 2008 and the World Expo in 2010, millions of foreign tourists were predicted to visit China, the Chinese government encouraged the locals to add English translation in menus in restaurants and signs in public space. However, owing to the locals’ insufficient knowledge of English, the nonsense Chinglish, for example, ‘Execution in progress’ (Construction in progress), ‘Beware of missing foot’ (Beware of falling) and ‘Don’t feed the toilet’ (Don’t discard tissue in the toilet) were put in the limelight of the world. In order to remove this problematic translation, China recently published a guide book with translations of Chinese cuisines.

Chinglish	China English	Photo
Tofu made by woman with freckles	Mapo Tofu
Four glad meat balls	Braised Pork Balls in Gravy
Husband and wife’s lungslice	Couples’s Sliced Beef in Chili Sauce
Government abuse chicken	Kung Pao Chicken
Drunk Crabs	Liquor-soaked Crabs
Pork flower	Saunted Pig Kidney

Those refined names become more reader-friendly and also reveal the Chinese features. This shows China is working away from Chinglish but towards China English.

On the other hand, in recent decades, the number of Chinese emigrants surges. More Chinese resides in foreign countries and form a small community like Chinatown with Chinese restaurants and traditional festive celebrations. This influx of Chinese culture attracts the foreigners’ attention and improves their understanding of Chinese lifestyle. This provides an account of the western media’s use of China English which shows recognition of the East culture and respect to the Chinese.

Media and China English (II): the case of Jeremy LIN

Jeremy Shu-How Lin (1988-), a Harvard graduate as well as an Asian American professional basketball player of NBA, after his eight consecutive winning games, has rocked to be a public figure and in the spotlight of various media. Newspapers, sports magazines and TV commentators, in response to Lin's craze, often make use of "Lin", the athlete's family name, as prefix to create terms like "Lin-sanity", "Lin-credible", "Lin-possible", with www.linsanity.com as his fan page and "To Lin-finity and beyond" as the slogan. Also, the word "Amasian" as a product of complex clipping by compounding the nouns "Amazing" and "Asian" was used to describe Lin in posters, banners and discussion forums. Can such terms by the media be categorized as China English?

Not necessary, if we refer to the definition of China English discussed in part (I). China English refers to the performance variety of English to express terms which meaning are necessarily tied with interpretations or ideologies of a specific Chinese tradition. Also, it should be commonly recognized by and originated from the speech community geographically located in China. On the contrary, the term "Lin-sanity" fails to be attributed to any of the culture but was only devised to depict Lin's popularity in the American community. Similarly, the word "Amasian" refers solely to the stereotype in an American society towards asian while has nothing to do with China Englih or Chinglish.

Media and China English (I): print media and the movie industry

According to Jin (2002), the definition of China English being put forward is that it builds around the core of 'normative English' while aims at facilitating transmission of Chinese-specific cultures, linguistics expressions and ideologies in traditional setting by means of transliteration, borrowing and semantic transfer. In order words, it refers to a continuum or interference variety of English used by Chinese people to express content ideas specific to the Chinese culture.

China Daily and Beijing Weekend are two renowned English newspapers with a national and international circulation in China. While important issues such as visits of Chinese leaders for diplomatic purposes, policies implementation in the country, wars and natural disasters are being covered by China Daily, Beijing Weekend reports shopping, travel, art, entertainment and other various aspects of the privileged life in Beijing to foreigners and visitors. In a research (Yang, 2005) where 84 copies of these two newspapers were studied, it was found that loanwords (lexical item imported in the form of 'pinyin' from one language to another without substitution) such as "pipa" (traditional Chinese music instrument), "mantou" (steamed bun) and "mingong" (rural workers) also loan translations (direct translation of Chinese terms) such as "red envelops" and "dumpling" and "mother country" are the most common types of lexical innovations.

The phrase "mingong" (rural workers), now appearing almost daily in various English media in China, made its first appearence in China Daily on Ocbober 2, 2004. (Yang, 2005)

Moreover, Chinese values being upheld in the movie industry helped China English lexical items gets infiltrated into English vocabularies of foreign media. For example, "Mulan" was introduced to the West by Disney Studio's making of its movie in the U.S. in 2004 and Gong Li's movie, "Raise the Red Lantern" in 1991.

Along with the "kung fu" craze, words such "shifu" (master), "qi" (energy) with reference to Chinese culture in actions movie series like "Rush Hour" and "Matrix" gained the chance to meet the West. In the following clip extracted from Kill Bill Vol.2 (2004), though the character "Pai Mei" (the master) spoke in Cantonese, terms like "swordmanship" (values of the person versed in the art of sword), "Tiger's Crane", "Eagle's Craw" (two types of martial art) appeared in the subtitles are made known to the West by the popularity of the film.

China English: friend or foe?

China English is undergoing development and becoming a new variety of English originated in China. Some people may negatively label it as a non-standard variety. However, it is notably not nonsense in meaning and irrational in structure as Chinglish. China English is indeed based on the standard English, features Chinese culture and Chinese characteristics in lexicon, syntax and discourse without violating the grammatical rules. It is seen as the fusion of the Eastern culture and the Western language. The English translation of Chinese dishes can be used as examples. ‘Mushroom with Duck Webs’ signifies the primary and secondary ingredients. ‘Sauteed Pig Kidney’ describes the cooking style. ‘Crispy Chicken’ reveals the texture of the dish. The uses of ‘in’ and ‘with’ are clearly set apart. ‘In’ is used when the ingredients are cooked with the sauce while ‘with’ is used when the sauce is added on top of the ingredients. Chinese dishes are renowned of their complex ways of cooking. The English translation of dishes is simple but significantly highlights the most distinguishing feature of the dishes. The signs of Chinese culture still outstand under the veil of English.

People who are not familiar with Chinese culture and social lifestyle may interpret the words literally, fail to find out the Chinese culture inherent in China English or understand the meaning. For example,

What the Chinese say	What ‘others’ interpret	What the Chinese mean
Lion Dance	The dancing performance of the lion in Madagascar?	The Chinese custom of dispelling evil and bringing good luck. Lions symbolize fearlessness and strength.
Dragon Dance	The dancing performance of a non-existing creature?	The Chinese custom of bringing good luck and auspicious future. Dragons symbolize power and dignity in China.
Colour wolf	A wolf in different colours.	Sex-maniac. ‘Se’ (Chinese translation of colour) is sometimes associated with ‘hao se’ (lustful). Wolves symbolize people who have evil and cunning thoughts.
Pay New Year calls	Pay for the bills of the telephone service during the New Year?	‘Bai nian’. What people do when they give greetings to each other at the Chinese New Year.

However, with the widespread use of China English over the globe, it is believed that Chinese culture can be simultaneously exported to foreigner countries. In recent decades, China English prevails in the West due to the overseas journalists’ employment, more foreigners are exposed to this variety and able to realize the literal meaning and also the cultural meaning. Language is becoming a tool for China to export its local colour to the rest of the world.

China Boom and China English

In the age of globalization, everything happened in China has caught global attention. Due to the increasing contact of China and the rest of the world, everyone is paying more attention to current issues in China. As a result, the rise of Chinese economy give rises to the use of China English over the world.

China is catching more attention from places all over the world due to its economic growth. It is now the second largest economy and the world's largest exporter. People forecast in 10 years or 15 years, it will be the world's largest economy. A senior economist at the Milken Institute said that China is a key player in what is happening to interest rate and financing the deficit in the United States. As the country becomes more integrated with the rest of world, we may well anticipate English borrowing more Chinese words. The rising economic power of China has aroused people’s interests towards the China and the adoption of China English phrases could make them easier to understand the Chinese society.

In order to clearly reflect and report current issues in China, western media adopts more literally translated Chinese phrases. The Economist, for instance, has carried reports on the surplus of “bare branches” or guanggun, referring to unmarried men. The New Yorker carried a report on the “angry youth” or fenqing, which became a manifesto for a patriotic swath of society, a self-styled vanguard in defence of China’s honour. The Guardian, The Economist, Newsweek, and the Times have all reported on chengguan, interpreting the term as referring to “local government enforcers”, “low-level officers”, or “a junior cousin to the police force”. The Chinese words now being adopted into English are usually literal translations employed when the English-language media discuss concepts and phenomena related specifically to China.

In the 2008, to promote the Beijing Olympics, BBC employed British designer and comic artist Jamie Hewlett (graphic animator and co-creator of well-known English virtual band GORILLAZ) to create a cartoon series of a folk tale in China introducing terms like "qi" (energy), "wukong" and "monkey king" to the British audiences, helping the spread of wordings with Chinese culture embedded.

China English: the political environment

According to a report issued by the Global Language Monitor, Chinglish has contributed around 5-20% to the English vocabulary and they are now the main sources of new English words.

The Global Language Monitor (GLM) recently released a report saying China English has become creative for new English words. English, as a global language, has been affected by the rise of china, particularly with its rise in international status. Over 1,000 words of Chinese origin can now be found in the Oxford English Dictionary and, since the mid-1990s, the adoption of Chinese words and phrases into English seems to be on the rise.

Indeed, it is not a recent phenomenon for Chinese phrases to literally translate into English. In the latter half of the 20th century, there are English expressions like “bare-foot doctor”, “little red book”, “red guards” are all associated with the “cultural revolution” (1966-1976), while “paper tiger” “great leap forward” are associated with specific periods. During those days, these words conjured up a negative image of China in the eyes of the West.

However, the status of China English has been enhanced in recent decades due to the rising status of China in international politics. A professor from the University of Barcelona commented that China is playing a more important role on international affairs. Therefore, western media has been paying closer attention to what is going on inside China. For example, the 2008 Beijing Olympics brought another loud and clear Chinese expression to the world’s attention: the Chinese cheer Jiayou! A rising China is undoubtedly catching more interest and sometimes concern.

China English allows valuable elements of Chinese traditional culture to be better preserved, developed and promoted. For example, words like fengshui and taichi have successfully brought the ancient Chinese art and life philosophy under spotlight on the global stage, drawing immense attention and ongoing fascination from the whole world. With Chinese culture and traditions growing more and more popular in the world, Chinese English speakers will too be gaining the power of discourse in intercultural communication, because they are no longer passive culture receivers but culture disseminators. This, in return, may reinforce their sense of pride in their native cultural identity and serve as a strong incentive for them to further explore and protect Chinese cultural legacies.

Moreover, the rise of China English and the adoption of Chinese cultural ideas will make the world more civilized. Chinese written civilization is more than 4,000 years old, and its culture is so rich that it is admired by people all over the world. The core of Confucianism is ‘benevolence’ [ren]. This concept encourages Chinese rulers to adopt benevolent governance [wangdao] rather than hegemonic governance [badao]. In terms of foreign relations, Chinese strategists aspire to ‘associate with benevolent gentlemen and befriend good neighbors’ [qinren shanlin]. In the last two centuries, Western countries took the leading role in world affairs. The strength and advance of Western countries created a political culture that emphasized power rather than morality, which has had a worldwide impact. As China rises, it will make its political culture popular throughout the world. The Chinese concept of ‘benevolence’ will influence international norms and make international society more civilized.

Chinglish v.s. China English

Some people may think that China English and Chinglish are the same variety of English. However, there are some differences between them. As we are trying to distinguish them, we have to pay attention that there is no clear boundary between Chinglish and Chinese English so it is impossible to place them neatly into two categories because they are on a continuum.

Both China English and Chinglish are incomprehensible to native speakers of English but the reasons behind it are different. For China English, its lexicon attributes to the influence of Chinese so it reflects Chinese culture. For instance, the word red envelope, native speakers of English could easily visualise a red envelope in its literal sense but they may not understand the term within the Chinese cultural context. For Chinglish, words are often ungrammatically strung together that make them incomprehensible to English speakers from abroad. Good good study, day day up! is an example. Actually the phrase is a word -for-word translation from Chinese, hao hao xue xi, tian tian xiang shang which means “Study hard, do have a progressive spirit every day!” Native speakers of English can understand each of the word but when they are put together, they cannot comprehend them because they are ungrammatical.

Although sometimes both China English and Chinglish are grammatically correct, native speakers of English can understand the former from its literal sense but they cannot understand the latter. For China English, the word red envelope has the basic structure of English, the adjective describes the noun which corresponds to Standard English. But native speakers of English can only understand the term from its literal sense which is an envelope that is red. Native speakers of English cannot understand Chinglish from its literal sense. For instance, Use the bottom cushion for flotation corresponds to the grammar of English.But most of us would not understand the term bottom cushion, does it mean the cushion from below or the cushion at the bottom so we cannot understand the sentence from its literal sense.

China English is adapted to express characteristics of China but Chinglish is usually used to translate Chinese to English but fail to follow the rules of Standard English. China English is able to transmit cultural references that Chinese speakers would like to communicate. Expressions such as one country, two systems and special economic zone are uniquely appropriate regarding what is happening in China and it is hard to find strict equivalents in other varieties of English. For Chinglish, it is often found in translating Chinese to English.

huíchéng dào can be translated as return route. However, a Chinglish term RackBackt is used to translate huíchéng dào which makes no sense. The only part that can correlate to Chinese is back but it has the suffix t so it is incomprehensible to English speakers from abroad.

Linguistics features of China English

English is the lingua franca in the world and the importance of English has been recognized in China. The country is changing at a remarkable speed, and this can be seen in the increasing number of people learning English which foster the growth of China English. Like other English varieties in the world, China English is a developing new variety with its own lexicon, structure, and discourse. However, a unique feature of China English is that it expresses Chinese culture and has Chinese characteristics in its lexis, sentence structure and discourse.

Phonetic features
Speakers of China English tend to pronounce /s/ where a speaker of Standard English would use /θ/ which is an unvoiced dental fricative because Mandarin has no sound equivalent to /θ/. Thus, speakers choose the closest linguistic component available to them, which is /θ/, as a substitute. Because Mandarin is a language which each word has a single syllable so there is a tendency for China English speakers to use a short clear cut way of speaking.

Lexical items

Lexical items in China English express ideas or entities which are specific to Chinese culture. Thus, sometimes it will be meaningless in the context of standard or international Englishes.Terms such as Mid-Autumn festival, red envelope and Four Books are examples of China English’s lexical items. Although these terms can be identified as English, their meaning is often inaccessible to English speakers who do not know Chinese culture. For instance, red envelope can be visualised as an envelope which is red for speakers of other varieties of English. However, for people who know Chinese culture, they would interpret red envelope as a special monetary gift, often given at Chinese New Year. So speakers of other varieties of English may not understand the meaning of these lexical items.

Sentence structure

The sentence structure is also different from Standard English. In question 1-4, do you know which sentence has the syntax of China English?

a Mary bought a television yesterday.

b Mary yesterday bought a television.

a It is Sunday

b Today is Sunday

a I gave him the book that I bought yesterday.

b I bought a book yesterday and I gave it to him.

a He had been engaged in a construction job, and after he completed it he went to Beijing and now he just flew back the day before.

b He had flown in just the day before from Beijing after the completion of the construction job he had been engaged in.

Discourse

The written discourse patterns of China English differs from Standard English’s because ‘face work’ plays an important role in it. Face work helps an addresses or a speaker to have ‘good face’ which preserves or boosts their image. Users of China English usually have ‘facework’ at the first half of the letter and introduce the reasons for a particular request before making the actual request. For instance,China English speakers make a request by a salutation. Then, they will engage in face work to preserve their image or complement the speakers. I hope my English won’t let you down or It is a happy experience to write to you are some of the examples. Then, they will explain their reasons for writing and continue to employ ‘facework’. Sentences like Your experience and story is very valuable for our website and tourists and I appreciate your writing style and creative idea are some of the examples. Then, they will write their actual request and sign off. In the Chinese cultural context, face is crucial in Chinese society so speakers needs to take extra efforts in engaging in positive face work in discourse so that they can preserve their image. But for the same discourse in Standard English, writers do not need to praise the addresses and find ways to boost their image.

Answers:

~~a Mary bought a television yesterday.~~

b Mary yesterday bought a television.

>There is a preferred word order in China English which is Subject+

Adverb/Adjunct+ Verb+Object.

~~a It is Sunday~~

b Today is Sunday

>Special subjects are often used to replace the dummy pronoun it.

~~a I gave him the book that I bought yesterday.~~

b I bought a book yesterday and I gave it to him.

>Simple and compound sentences are more preferable than complex sentences.

a He had been engaged in a construction job, and after he completed it he went to Beijing and now he just flew back the day before.

~~b He had flown in just the day before from Beijing after the completion of the construction job he had been engaged in.~~

>Speakers of China English tend to arrange sentences according to time sequence of the events.

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Academic References

Cui, X. (2006). An understanding of ‘China English’ and the learning and use of the English language in China. English Today, 22, 40-13. Cambridge University Press.
Eaves, M. (2011). English, Chinglish or China English? Analyzing Chinglish, Chinese English and China English. English Today, 27, 64-70. Cambridge University Press.
Fang, X. (2011) Glocalizing ELT: From Chinglish to China English. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 2(2), 377-381.
He, D. & Li, C.S. (2009). Language attitudes and linguistics features in the 'China English' debate. World Englishes, 28(1), 70-89. Blackwell Publishing.
Hu, X. (2005). China English, at home and in the world. English Today, 23, 28-38. Cambridge University Press.
Jin, H. (2002). China English in Chinese-English translation in intercultural communication. Journal of Guangdong institute for nationalities, (2), 72-78.
Pieterse, J. N. (1996). Globalisation and Culture: Three Paradigms. Economic and Political Weekly, 31(23) , 1389-1393.
Qiang, N. & Wolff, M. (2003). China and Chinese, or Chingland and Chinglish?. English Today, 19, 9-11. Cambridge University Press.
Yang, J. (2005). Lexical innovations in China English. World Englishes, 24(4), 425-436. Blackwell Publishing.
Zhang, M. (2008). Cultural identity in China English as a variety of English. Asian Social Science, 4(9), 99-102.

1. FUNG Yanessa:

" In the face of geographical, language and cultural differences with the West, China strives to bridge the communication in between by adopting English, a well-established lingua franca. In the era of globalization, local features are sometimes diminished or vanish to suit the global trend. However, it is remarkable that China English appears to be combining the standard English with Chinese cultural features and manifests the signs of glocalization.

The spread of China English is also contributed to the West. The western media pay much more attention to China’s political, economic and social development than in the past as they are now increasingly aware of her leading role in the globalized economy. The exclusive description of Chinese conditions in China English shows the recognition of Chinese status and this variety.With the support of Chinese government and western countries, China English is believed to prevail in the world. "

2. LEE Alice:

" Globalization is the process of describing the transformation of local or regional phenomenon into global ones, which does not limit to economic scope, but also political, cultural and every aspect of life. In the age of globalization, together with the rise of China, China English has been widely spread over the world. Western media are keeping up with different issues in China and they even absorb some Chinese phrases into English so as to reflect what is happening in China, at the same time respecting such an important country. Thanks to globalization and technological advancement, local news and culture can spread quickly throughout the world. In this sense, globalization greatly fostered the use of China English. Nowadays, the use of new Chinese terms and phrases does not only restricted in China but soon becomes hot issues on everyone's lips. With China's rising power in the world and the increasing extent of globalization, the gaining popularity of China English can be predicted. "

3. PAU Haley:

" In my opinion, globalization will foster the growth of China English. China English represents things that are unique to China and the Chinese way of thinking so it acts as a bridge for the world to discover the uniqueness of China and for China to know more about the world. Since China is gaining economic and political influence in the world and taking part in various kinds of international cooperation, more people in other countries are interested to learn Chinese culture. If people from abroad understand Chinese culture, they will be able to interpret the meanings of China English’s lexical items which make it easier for users to communicate with the outside world. Furthermore, the rapid flow of information in the Internet facilitates the growth of this variety of world English. In conclusion, I think China English will play a significant role in communication in China and abroad and it will continue to flourish. "

4. WONG Samson:

" While some views with reference to the hagemony of English under globalization posit that based on our pursuit toward speaking normative standard English then China English as a sociolect continnum will be gradually restricted in the future, I think this may be a mistaken piece of opinion.

In LCOM2005 lecture we were shown a case that in a Thai airline which flight attendants were asked so speak more "Ching Mai", going against the prediction that people are going to sound more 'alike' in the face of globalization. It reminds me of the cooking TV show "Yan Can Cook" hosted by Martin Yan who became famous in Canada Food Network due to his unique Canto-stressed English pronunciations.

I tend to agree with the view that even after people are taught proper and standard English, China English can still be retained because people are active users of linguistics resources (degree of Chineseness) around them. "